Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Relevant

"We don't make the Scriptures relevant, they are relevant. Our job as Christians is to point out how relevant God's Word really is."
Rise and Shine, p. 91.


But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3: 15, NIV

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Heart Speaks to Heart

"The Rabbi implores, "Don't you understand that discipleship is not about being right or being perfect or being efficient? It's all about the way you live with one another." The success or failure of a given day is measured by the quality of our interest and compassion toward those around us. We define ourselves by our response to human need. The question is not how we feel about our neighbor but what we have done for him or her. We reveal our heart in the way we listen to a child, speak to the person who delivers mail, bear an injury, and share our resources with the indigent."

But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you,
What I have vowed I will make good.
Jonah 2: 9


"Heart Speaks to Heart", Reflections for Ragamuffins, Brennan Manning.

Detestable Things

When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
Deuteronomy 18: 9

"Many find the occult attractive because they want to experience a knowledge and power that is super-natural in origin. In a sense these are God-given desires, but they are intended to be fulfilled by the knowlwedge and power which comes from God. Draw upon this knowledge and power by drawing closer to Him -- it's much more satisfying than the counterfeit Satan has to offer!"

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

God Answers Prayers

" ... I will call to you, for you will answer me."
Psalm 86: 7

God Gets Derision - We Get Death

"Paul said, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3: 23). Sinning is a "falling short" of the glory of God. But the Greek word for "falling short" (husterountai) means "lack." The idea is not that you shot an arrow at God's glory and the arrow fell short, but that you could have had it as a treasure, but you don't. You have chosen something else instead.
...
In the words of Jeremiah, God calls it appalling. "Be appalled, O heavens, at this and shudder, be very desolate, declares the Lord. For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. 2: 12-13). What is the essence of evil? It is forsaking a living fountain for broken cisterns. God gets derision and we get death."

John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Is It Good For Me?

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional


Yesterday we looked at a piece of property on the
sea. There were lovely woods to one side, two
tall, scraggly, very picturesque pine trees on
the other, huge rocks which turn pink in the
sunset below, and in front miles and miles of
blue ocean.

It is not always easy to know whether a thing we
long for is a temptation from Satan to distract
us from obedience and make us discontent, or
something God actually wants to give us and
therefore wants us to pray for. There is no such
thing as something "too good to be true." God is
loving and lavishly generous and has promised to
give what is good--that is, what He who is
omniscient knows to be good for us.

So today I asked Him to give me the prayers He
wants me to pray and to give or withhold anything
according to his plan for me. Nothing is too big
to ask of Him, not even an ocean lot. It is God's
business to decide if it is good for me. It is my
business to obey Him.

"No good thing will He withhold from them that
walk uprightly" (Ps 84:11).

Remember

Transcript, Christian Working Woman

Monday, May 29, 2006

Remembering To Remember - Part 1 of 2

How do you remember what you're supposed to remember? If you're like me, you have lists everywhere, you put reminders all around you, you make a plan to help you remember what you should remember. It's a good idea for us to build spiritual reminders into our lives as well.

I noticed an interesting passage in Numbers 15 recently. Moses said to the people, "Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.."

There are many places in Scripture where God instituted rituals and customs for the purpose of helping people to remember. If you've ever seen a very orthodox Jew, you'll notice that they still have these tassels hanging down from their shirts. That was started by Moses so that they would remember and not be misled by their own sinful hearts.

Now, ask yourself this question: Has your spiritual life been slipping lately? Do you find that you're not doing what you should do, not living the way you should live? Well, chances are pretty good that you haven't built any reminders into your life to help you remember.

I can tell you from personal experience that not only does the aging process take away your memory, but if you're a Christian, you have an enemy, Satan, who's doing everything he can to help you forget what you should remember. And when we forget what we should remember, that's when we start to backslide, we start to disobey, we start to follow our old sinful ways.

Since we're no longer under law, we don't have to wear tassels, but it sure would be smart for us to build some reminders into our lives to help us remember. Jesus gave us a new commandment to observe the Lord's Supper, and the reason for that is so that we'll remember Calvary and all He's done for us.

Sermon

Yesterday's sermon was based on Luke 8:40-48.

Aaron made the point that "real faith is daring", and encouraged us to be open in our faith.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Be A Star

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional: Stars in a Dark World


One of the letters the apostle Paul wrote from
prison begs his friends to think and feel alike,
to love, to have the "same turn of mind, and a
common care for unity" (Phil 2:2 NEB). In such
company there would be no room for rivalry or
personal vanity. Each one would be thinking the
others better, seeking to put their interests
first.

Obedience, humility, cheerfulness ("Do all you
have to do without complaint or wrangling") are
rare in a warped and crooked world--nearly
nonexistent, in fact, where each lives for his
own ends. If a marriage counselor were to ask
each partner, "What are your goals?" and the
answer were "How can I best serve my husband or
wife? What can I do to further his or her goals?"
the counseling period would be over, the bill
low. Any two people, any community of Christians
who set themselves to look only to the other's
interest would be a rare and radiant thing,
shining, as Paul said, "like stars in a dark
world" (Phil 2:15 NEB).

In that same sense, a Christian might well pray,
"Lord, make me a star."

Friday, May 26, 2006

The Mysterious Substitution

"Because of the mysterious substitution of Christ for the Christian, each encounter with a brother or sister is a real encounter with the risen Lord, an opportunity to respond creatively to the gospel, and mature in the wisdom of accepted tenderness. Time has been given to us to cause love to grow, and the success of our lives will be measured by how delicately and sensitively we have loved. There is no escaping the gospel logic that all our thoughts, words, and deeds addressed to others are in a real way addressed to Christ himself."

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4: 12

Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Expectation and Fulfillment

I believe that much of the dissatisfaction we experience in marriage
comes from expecting too much from it. I have a rather outdated computer—a 486— so I know there are some things I simply can't do with it; there's just not enough memory or processing power to run certain programs or combine certain tasks. It's not that I have a bad computer, it's just that I can't reasonably expect more from it than it has the power to give. In the same way, some of us ask too much of marriage. We want to get the largest portion of our life's fulfillment from our relationship with our spouse. That's asking too much. Yes, without a doubt, there should be moments of happiness, meaning, and a general sense of fulfillment. But my wife can't be God, and I was created with a spirit that craves God. Anything less than God, and I'll feel an ache.

Gary Thomas

Exercise

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.
2 Peter 3: 11, NIV


"He [Peter] has just described how the earth is going be renovated by fire at the end of the age, and asks, "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be ... ?" (2 Peter 3:11) That is, in light of God's plan for eternity, how should you be living your life in the present? He then proceeds to answer his own question ... .

... Peter says we are to be godly. He echoes the words of the apostle Paul who wrote to Timothy, "Exercise yourself to godliness. For ... godliness is profitable for all things ..." (1 Timothy 4: 7-8). He means that godliness, like physical fitness, does not just happen -- you have to work at it.

...

What are the exercises? Bible study, prayer, self-control, discipline in what we watch, read, and listen to, accountability, fellowship, worship, service, and giving. In order to be godly, those are the exercises we must carry out."


David Jeremiah, Tough Minded About Heaven, What You Always Wanted to Know About Heaven.

The Edge of Glory

Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness.
Psalm 138:2, The Message

"Why did David dance? David, dancing before the Ark, reckless and joyful.

David had been living dangerously all his life -- with lions and bears, a taunting giant and a murderous king, marauding Philistines and cunning Amalekites, in wilderness caves and wadis. And with and in God: running and hiding, praying and loving. ... In and under these conditions David had learned to live openly, daringly, trustingly, and exultantly before God.

In God, David had access to life that exceeded his capacity to measure or control. He was on the edge of mystery, of glory. And so he danced."

Leap Over a Wall

The Edge of Glory, God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson.

A Good Kind of Anger

Joni's Devotional for Today

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” — Ephesians 4:26

My friend Robert exploded at God the other day when Joshua, his little boy with multiple disabilities, suffered yet another seizure. “God, I don’t get it,” Robert protested. “How can you allow Joshua to have a seizure that causes him to fall and bang his head?” Strong words. We’re usually scared to talk to God that way. Too often we choose the polite mute, bottling up our unspeakable feelings toward God. But all we’ve done is shove the problem to the back burner.

Anger at least keeps the problem on the front burner, propelling us into action. And that may not be all bad. When Ephesians 4:26 states, “In your anger do not sin,” it’s clear not all anger is wrong. Strong emotions open the door to ask the hard questions: Does life make sense? Is God good? More to the point, our deep emotions reveal the spiritual direction in which we are moving. Are we moving toward God with our heated questions, or are we moving away from him?

The thing I love about Robert is that he is taking his concerns to God. He is moving toward the Lord. He is not sowing seeds of discord, spreading slander or inciting rebellion against God among others. He’s not talking about God behind God’s back; he’s engaging him head-on.

This makes Robert’s anger good. When I listen to him, I can almost hear embedded between the lines an honest hunger, a desire to stay connected. After all, the people you really get angry with are sometimes the ones you trust the most.

Sometimes the anger we express toward God can be an upside-down way of trusting him. It’s the dark side of trust but trust nonetheless. If your soul is in turmoil, all God is looking for is a thin thread of trust. Then God is able to work in your life. But only if you take your anger to – not away from – him.

* * * * *

Lord God, help me to remember that you are big enough to handle my honest feelings. If I’m angry or hurt, help me to express it to you without showing disrespect.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Dispensers of Grace

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

Each Christian is a dispenser. God has supplied
each one with gifts He has selected (He does not
offer an array of options), with the good of all
in mind. When we imagine that these gifts are for
our own mere satisfaction, we are forgetting they
are intended for service. All that I have is
meant to contribute to the needs of others, and
what I need will be supplied through God's
dispensers. Thus He unifies and harmonizes the
whole church, which is his body, making each
dispenser indispensable, for each dispenses a
grace which is peculiarly his.

"Serve one another with the particular gifts God
has given each of you, as faithful dispensers of
the magnificently varied grace of God" (l Pt 4:10
NEB).

A Well-Placed "No"

Run for dear life from evil;
hold on for dear life to good.
Romans 12: 9, The Message


"Our capacity to say "no," is one of the most impressive features of our language. The negative is our access to freedom. Only humans can say "no." Animals can't say "no." Animals do what instinct dictates. The judicious, well-placed "no" frees us from many a blind alley, many a rough detour, frees us from debilitating distractions and seductive sacrilege. The art of saying "no" sets us free to follow Jesus.

Following Jesus means not following your impulses and appetites and whims and dreams, all of which are sufficiently damaged by sin to make them unreliable guides for getting anyplace worth going."

Traveling Light

A Well-Placed "No", by Eugene Peterson, God's Message for Each Day

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Ask and Receive

All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted.
Mark 11: 24

"If God wants it to be done, can it be done? Yes! "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9: 23). What are the "all things" in that verse? Can we simply name what we want and claim it? No. "All things" pertains to God's will. What He makes possible is the doing of His will. Our prayer, then, should be that the desires of our hearts be in harmony with His will."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Worship

"Nothing makes God more supreme and central in worship than when a people are utterly persuaded that nothing -- not money or prestige or leisure or family or job or health or sports or toys or friends -- nothing is going to bring satisfaction to their sinful, guilty, aching hearts besides God. This convictioin breeds a people who go hard after God on Sunday morning. They are not confused about why they are in worship service. They do not view songs and prayers and sermons as mere traditions or mere duties. They see them as means of getting to God or God getting to them for more of his fullness -- no matter how painful that may be for sinners in the short run.

If the focus in corporate worship shifts onto our giving to God, one result I have seen again and again is that subtly it is not God that remains at the center but the quality of our giving. ... And little by little the focus shifts off the utter indispensability of the Lord himself onto the quality of our performances. ... Nothing keeps God at the center of worship like the Biblical conviction that the essence of worship is deep, heartfelt satisfaction in him, and the conviction that the trembling pursuit of that satisfaction is why we are together.

...


But, in fact, for thousands of people, and for many pastors, the event of "worship" on Sunday morning is conceived as a means to accomplish something other than worship. We "worship" to raise money; we "worship" to attract crowds; we "worship" to heal human hurts; to recruit workers; to improve church morale; to give talented musicians an opportunity to fulfill their calling; to teach our children the way of righteousness; to help marriages stay together; to evangelize the lost; to motivate people for service projects; to give our churches a family feeling.

In all this we bear witness that we do not know what true worship is. Genuine affections for God are an end in themselves."

John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory

A Bondslave of Christ

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

Abraham was a very wealthy man who had many
servants. He himself, knowing well what makes a
good servant, was a faithful and obedient servant
of God.

Nowadays most of us have never had servants and
therefore have almost no notion of what it means
to be one. It means first of all to have a
master--that is, to belong to someone else. He
can do what he wants with you; you are there to
do for him. You are at his disposal. It is not
for you to reason why he asks something of you;
it is yours only to do it. So long as you are in
his service, you are not your own (1 Cor 6:20).

Abraham was a man full of faith, obedient to his
Lord, readily at his command.

Master, help me to live today according to your
desires, and when I reach home may You be able to
say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Monday, May 22, 2006

Spiritual Formation and the Local Community

"Willard states that God’s plan for spiritual formation through the local Christian community is threefold: First, create an ethos and culture that places apprenticeship to Christ in all the minute aspects of life as central. This creates the necessary vision to fuel the individual’s intention. Second, immerse apprentices at all levels of growth in the Trinitarian presence of God through the community’s structure and life. In this way, the community’s primary purpose is to encounter the Trinitarian presence and hold people up within it. Finally, arrange for the inner transformation of people in such a way that doing the words and deeds of Christ is not the focus but the natural outcome or side effect. 6.

This creates a community of Christ’s apprentices in which each member is pursuing Christ, spending time with him in the course of their daily life in order to learn how to be like him. When the community gathers, all relationships are then mediated through Christ.

....

In this way, Christ fills all of our needs for life and formation as we follow him (2 Peter 1:3), not by participating in and consuming the organizational church’s programs. As I follow the resurrected Christ with others who are following him, he meets us and ministers to us through all the members of the community."


Thoughts from Jason Zahariades
(Emphasis added)
---
Footnote is
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ.

What Christ Calls Beautiful

Aaron's sermon yesterday looked at three unbelievables and three "what Jesus called beautiful" in the text Matthew 26:6-13.

Jesus calls beautiful:
1. putting extravagance in the place of caution
2. putting perseverance in the place of criticism
3. putting confidence in the grace of Christ

Question: Is there anything you've given that Christ would say "that's beautiful"?

My summary statement: be crazy mad about Jesus

Friday, May 19, 2006

Answer

"I never prayed sincerely and earnestly for anything but it came at some time -- no matter how distant a day, somehow in some shape, probably the last I would have devised, it came."

Adoniram Judson

A Sure Thing

People with their minds set on you,
you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
because they keep at it and don't quit.

Depend on God and keep at it
because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.

Isaiah 26, The Message

Joy

"When you blend humility with unity the result is contagious joy"

- C. Swindoll

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Prayer

"Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might."

Charles H. Spurgeon

Faith

Faith takes the long view—God’s shadow is a long shadow.
Stuart Briscoe

One Fear-Object

It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.
Isaiah 8: 13

"If we're going to walk by faith, we can have only one fear-object in our life, and that's God. When Saul was king, he disobeyed God because he feared the voice of man more than the voice of God. Fearing God alone will shut out all other fears, for then we become God-pleasers instead of man-pleasers. To honor God in such a way is to worship Him."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Wed Night Class

Key verse from last night is 1 John 2:6

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (NIV)

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did. (NLT)

Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived. (The Message)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

What God Will Do

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.

Isaiah 42: 16, The Message

Nourished

In pointing out these things ... you will be a good servant ... constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.
1 Timothy 4:6

"The first half of Paul's epistles tell us who we are in Christ, and the second half of each epistle instructs us how to live accordingly. Trying to behave as Christians without first being established in Christ with a deep sense of understanding who we are as children of God will prove counterproductive."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

More Than Conquerors

"We are more than conquerors, rather than helpless victims, when it comes to dealing with Satan and his demons."
Stress Fractures, p. 194

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Romans 8: 37 NKJV

Monday, May 15, 2006

Servant Life

From Aaron's sermon yesterday three kingdom values:
1. we are called to be followers and servants
2. the least is the greatest
3. the cross is our model

Friday, May 12, 2006

Transformation

PreacherMike

Bob Keeshan, known to millions as Captain Kangaroo, was for decades the beloved host of a morning television show for children. When he began his role as the grandfatherly Captain in 1955, Keeshan was only twenty-eight years old; and so, to look the part, he had to wear a great deal of make-up, fake whiskers, and a wig. But as he played the role through the years, his hair turned white and wrinkles appeared. Keeshan found that he needed less and less make-up. Near the end of his career he could say: “I have grown into the part.”

The pilgrim heart will, in time, be shaped in the image of Christ. Initially, the likeness will be faint, hardly plausible at all. But if we walk the road with him, loving as he taught, then we become what we perform in due time. “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). At first we speak these words as a hopeful prayer; one day they will be true. . . . We are changed (Paul employs a Greek word which is the root of the English word metamorphosis) into the divine image incrementally, step by step, “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Furthermore, it occurs through the Holy Spirit’s powerful work in our lives, not through our effort or ingenuity. These two facts lead to patience (for the transformation requires much time, trial, error, pain, and failure) and humility (since it is never our doing; we are recipients of a holy gift).

Darryl Tippens, former English prof at ACU and Highland elder and now Provost of Pepperdine University, Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life.

Prayer for You Today

I ask--ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory--to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him--endless energy, boundless strength!


Ephesians 1: 17-19, The Message

Our Need

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
James 4: 10


"Pride says, "I resisted the devil all by myself." False humility says, "God resisted the devil; I did nothing." True humility says, "I resisted the devil by the grace of God." Humility is confidence properly placed; we are to "glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). Pride says, "I can do it on my own." No you can't. We absolutely need God and we necessarily need each other."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Finally

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Ephesians 6: 10, NIV

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong.
Ephesians 6: 10, The Message

Sovereign God

"Nothing enters your life accidentally; remember that. Behind our every experience is our loving, sovereign God."

For Those Who Hurt


And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs ... and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11, NRSV

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Thankfulness

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
Psalm 100: 4

"Imagine how you would feel if your child came to you and demanded, "I want more" when you have already given sacrificially to him. On the other hand, imagine a child snuggling up to you and saying, "Thanks for being who you are. I just love you and I know you are doing the best you can for me." How do you think God feels when you come to Him wanting more than the sacrifice of His Son? What can you thank Him for today?"

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ

How?

How will you make it today?

'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
Zechariah 4: 6

Monday, May 08, 2006

Da Vinci Code

"The Da Vinci Code challenges Jesus' identity and deeds, the content of the Bible, the origin of the church, the motives of early Christian leaders and the relevance of the church today — but it does so without any historical, logical or theological credibility. "

Decoding 'The Da Vindi Code'

Know the truth .. share the truth

The Word We Hear

I'm thanking you, GOD, out in the streets,

singing your praises in town and country.

Psalm 108: 3, The Message



"The psalmists are not interested in human potential; they are passionate about God -- the obedience shaping, will-transforming, sin-revoking, praise-releasing God.

The Psalms come from a people who hear God speak to them and realize that is is the most important word they will ever hear spoken. They decide to respond. They answer. The word they hear from God takes precedence over every human word: human wisdom, human advice, human discourses, human inquiry."

Answering God

The Word We Hear, God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson.

Sowing

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Galatians 6: 7

"As Christians we sometimes think we are exempt from this principle of sowing and reaping. Even though our sins are forgiven, we still have to live with the results and consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions, whether good or bad. You'll get out of life what you put into it. So if you want a friend, be a friend. If you want someone to love you, then first love someone."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Intentional

We talked yesterday about being intentional in growing in the Lord and one suggestion is to memorize Scripture. A suggestion is to start with the prayer in Ephesians 3: 14-22:

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

A resource for obtaining Scripture is BibleGateway

Sermon

Yesterday Aaron's sermon was entitled "Terminally Eternal". Although I found it greatly discouraging to be reminded of how my body is continuing to get older and less capable (I already knew that :) ), my key thought to remember this week is:

"my entire being is held together by the cross"

(there was a great visual aid to be reminded of this)

Friday, May 05, 2006

Hands Empty

"The basic movement of worship on Sunday morning is not to come with our hands full to give to God, as though he needed anything (Acts 17:25), but to come with our hands empty, to receive from God. And what we receive in worship is the fullness of God, not the feelings of entertainment."

(John Piper, God's Passion for His Glory, pg. 41)

No Scars in Heaven?

Joni's Devotional

"In a loud voice they sang, 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!'" — Revelation 5:12

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.'" — John 20:27

One of the most dramatic scenes in Scripture is when the Lord Jesus, after his resurrection, stretches out his hands to Thomas and challenges him to touch his wounds — and thus, believe. Jesus could have left Thomas to stew in his doubts, but the Lord never breaks the bruised reed. Instead, he bears the infirmities of the weak. He accommodates himself to help us through our doubts. He did it for Thomas, and he's still doing it today. God goes to great extent to confirm our faith, just as he did when he invited Thomas to thrust a hand into his side.

That's what makes those nail prints so precious. And that's why I'm not surprised the nail prints still showed on the Lord, even after His resurrection. His wounds are not only an evidence of love, but an encouragement to our faith. It is the wounds which help us believe.

Will Jesus bear his scars in heaven? Revelation 5:6 describes the scene: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne...” I have an inkling he will be the only one who will retain the painful reminders of his earthly journey. We, on the other hand, will bear no scars. All our tears will be wiped away. The scars of Jesus will not be painful for us to see, but an eternal reason to rejoice.

Why wait for heaven to rejoice? Today, the Lord accommodates himself to help you through your doubts. He'll go to great lengths to help confirm your faith. He invites you to place your hand in his and to feel what it cost to purchase your salvation.

* * * * *

Lord Jesus, help me to have faith through the crisis I'm in right now. Remind me of all the evidence you have provided that I might believe

Does Prayer Work?

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

The answer to that depends on one's definition of
work. It is necessary to know what a thing is for
in order to judge whether it works. It would be
senseless, for example, to say that if a
screwdriver fails to drive nails into a board it
doesn't "work." A screwdriver works very well for
driving screws. Often we expect to arrange things
according to our whims by praying about them, and
when the arrangement fails to materialize we
conclude that prayer doesn't work. God wants our
willing cooperation in the bringing in of his
kingdom. If "Thy kingdom come" is an honest
prayer, we will seek to ask for whatever
contributes to that end. What, after all is said
and done, do you want above all? Is it "Thy will
be done"? If so, leave it to Him.

Is it "My will be done"? Don't waste your time
and God's by praying. Have it your way.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

We Need God

I pray to God -- my life a prayer -- and wait for what he'll say and do.
Psalm 130: 5, The Message


"There isn't a single area of our lives in which we're self-sufficient. We need God. We never develop or graduate to a state in which we don't need God. I once heard Isaac Bashevis Singer, a master story teller in Yiddish, say in a radio interview, "I pray only when I am in trouble; but I am in trouble all the time so I pray all the time."

Everywhere throughout the biblical revelation we're encouraged to come to God with our lists of requests. God is generous and never runs out of blessings. God delights in giving -- it's what he does best."

Leap Over a Wall

We Need God, God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson.

Pray!

Today is the National Day of Prayer

Those who honor me I will honor.
1 Samuel 2: 30

2006 Prayer for the Nation

Oh Heavenly Father, You have made Yourself known to us as a nation by Your mighty works throughout our history.
From the beginning, You have
been with us through many wars and conflicts; Your right
arm has saved us. We have
been amazingly and
graciously blessed.


Today, we confess our sin
of not responding to Your
right to rule in our lives and our nation. Too often we have
despised and rejected Your will while imposing our own, and we
are now facing the consequences
of our disobedience.
Draw us back to Yourself
that we may return to Your
ways once again.
Without You we can do nothing.
You have promised that if we
honor You, You will once again honor this great nation.


That is our fervent prayer.
For Your honor
and glory we pray,
Amen.

Pray Hard, Work Tirelessly

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

Sometimes we think of these two things as in
opposition. The Bible never places them so, but
shows how perfectly they harmonize. Prayer is one
kind of work, necessary to the proper doing of
all other kinds. When we pray, we are in touch
with God, expectant, trusting: He is at work. He
does what we cannot do. We are to be at work
also, doing what we can do.

In Paul's closing remarks to the Christians in
Colossae he includes greetings from Epaphras.

He prays hard for you all the time....He works
tirelessly for you. (Col 4:12-13 NEB)

As we pray, the Lord frequently shows us what we
ourselves can do to cooperate with Him in
bringing about the answer. Let us listen as we
pray. Then let us go out and work tirelessly.

Be Part of God's Construction Crew

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edifiction ... that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4: 29


"If we could memorize just one verse from the New Testament, put it into practice, and never violate it, we would resolve as much as half to three-fourths of the problems in our homes and churches. That verse is Ephesians 4: 29. If we would build up others rather than put them down, we would be part of God's construction crew instead of members of Satan's wrecking crew."

Neil T. Anderson, Freedom in Christ.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Why Bother to Pray?

Elizabeth Elliot Devotional

If God is sovereign, and things will be as they
are going to be anyway, why bother to pray? There
are several reasons. The first is really all we
need to know: God has told us to pray. It is a
commandment, and if we love Him we obey his
commands.

Second, Jesus prayed. People sometimes say that
the only reason for prayer is that we need to be
changed. Certainly we do, but that is not the
only reason to pray. Jesus was not being made
more holy by prayer. He was communing with his
Father. He was asking for things. He thanked God.
In his Gethsemane prayer He was beseeching the
Father to prevent what was about to take place.
He was also laying down his own will.

Third, prayer is a law of the universe. As God
ordained that certain physical laws should govern
the operation of this universe, so He has
ordained the spiritual law. Books simply will not
stay put on the table without the operation of
gravity-- although God could cause them, by
divine fiat, to stay. Certain things simply will
not happen without the operation of prayer,
although God could cause them, by divine fiat, to
happen.

The Bible is full of examples of people doing
what they could do and asking God to do what they
couldn't do. In other words, the pattern given to
us is both to work and pray. Nehemiah and the
people of Israel worked hard to build the wall of
Jerusalem but were strenuously opposed by
Sanballat and Tobiah, who banded together with
Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites to attack. "So
we prayed to our God," wrote Nehemiah, "and
posted a guard day and night against them" (Neh
4:9 NEB).

Thursday is the National Day of Prayer

"The National Day of Prayer was established as an annual event in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. The observance of the National Day of Prayer is founded on the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion and can be celebrated by all Americans. President Ronald Reagan amended the law in 1988, designating the first Thursday of May each year as the NDP."
Focus Web Site

"Prayer is the bridge between heaven and earth." National Day of Prayer web site

Today on Focus on the Family is a discussion with Henry Blackaby who is this year's Honarary Chair of the National Day of Prayer.



Tuesday, May 02, 2006

God's Rule

When everything and everyone is finally under God's rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God's rule is absolutely comprehensive--a perfect ending!

1 Corinthians 15: 28, The Message



"What is God doing? He is saving; he is rescuing; he is blessing; he is providing; he is judging; he is healing; he is enlightening. There is a spiritual war in progress, an all-out moral battle. There is evil and cruelty, unhappiness and illness. There is superstition and ignorance, brutality and pain. God is in continuous and energetic battle against all of it.

God is for life and against death. God is for love and against hate. God is for hope and against despair. God is for heaven and against hell. There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square foot of space is contested."

Run with the Horses

God's Rule, God's Message for Each Day by Eugene Peterson.

Shadow of the Almighty

Psalm 91:11
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest
in the shadow of the Almighty.

In two of her books, Through Gates of Splendor and
The Shadow of the Almighty, Elisabeth Elliot tells the story
of five American missionaries, including her husband, Jim, who
were martyred in the jungles of Equador in 1956. The title of
the second book was clearly taken from Psalm 91, which the
five young men took very seriously as they embarked on the
hazardous task of making contact with the primitive Auca
people.

After a number of promising contacts with the Indians through
an ingenious method of lowering buckets of gifts from a plane
tightly circling over the village, the men landed on a strip of sand
on a jungle riverbank and awaited the arrival of their new "friends."
But the missionaries were cruelly murdered and their bodies left
in the muddy waters of the river.

Whatever natural fears the young men may have had, they were
undoubtedly allayed by the words, "Do not be afraid of the terrors
of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague
that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday"
(Ps. 91:5-6). Whatever reservations they may have entertained,
they presumably took great comfort in the words "If you make
the Lord your refuge, and you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you" (91:9-10). And yet the reality is that
these trusting young men were speared to death within days of
their arrival in Auca territory.

We don’t know how much warning—if any—the missionaries
had of the impending attack, but they had hung their hearts over
the words, "The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me,
I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them
and honor them’" (91:14-15).

The obvious question on the minds of many at the time of the
tragedy—and in succeeding years—was, "What went wrong?"
Did God’s promises not stand up under the weight of trust put
in him? Did God renege on his commitment to the safety of his
young servants? Had they misread or misinterpreted the
Scriptures?

And the answer, although hard to find, is surely that the Lord
did "rescue them" from their earthly pain and "honor them" in his
immediate presence. Ever since their deaths, they’ve enjoyed
his promise to "satisfy them with a long life"—as long as eternity
—"and give them [his] salvation" (91:15-16). Truly they found
"rest in the shadow of the Almighty" (91:1).

Faith takes the long view—God’s shadow is a long shadow.

Stuart Briscoe
______________________________________________

The Lord Jesus is our hope, our solace, our glory,
our victory, all found in the blood of the Lamb,
to whom be all glory and honor forever. Amen.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort ... " 2 Cor. 1:3

Monday, May 01, 2006

Not Mere Chance

"It is not mere chance or blind fate that determines the sweeping changes that impact every generation. Our sovereign God takes full responsibility. He tells us it is He who effects change. And the good news is this: When changes occur, they are never out of control!"

Rise and Shine, p. 129.

He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and raises up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.

Daniel 2: 21 NKJV

Faith

You can have very little faith in thick ice and it will hold you up just fine;
you can have enormous faith in thin ice and you can drown.
It's not the amount of faith you can muster that matters up front.
It may be tiny, like a mustard seed.
But your faith must be invested in something solid.
Lee Strobel


Da Vinci Code Deception

There is a two day discussion about the Da Vinci Code on Focus on the Family.

Don't Wait

Chris made the following points yesterday in his sermon:

1. God has called you (Mark 1: 17)

2. We are an imperfect instrument with a perfect message (2 Cor 4: 7)

3. Our calling is not to comfort -- our calling is to the cross (2 Cor 4: 7-18)

4. The time is now (2 Cor 6: 2)